The Sundering Worlds

Closing the Rift

1 down, 6 to go

22

MAY/17

Our heroes found themselves facing the Head of the Dispossessed, Aysha, and her right-hand man, Lothar. The Weaver continued to mentally commune with Elzalath as it hid in the shadows. Elzalath was the first to move. She reanimated the vemon-riddled corpses of their former allies. Upon revivification, the zombies started moving toward Aysha. Meanwhile, Corvus felt the weight of indecision and slunk into the shadows of the cavern. Pekeporo still felt torn over the desire to give the disenfranchised access to equality, but a vision of Myrna being torn apart by tainted aether moved his hands into the dirt to summon a dryad familiar in anticipation of impending combat.

Corvus nocked an arrow as Peke’s dryad familiar charged Lothar alongside K’ot. Unfortunately, years of helping facilitate rebellion made him quite a skilled foe. He effortlessly dodged both attacks and crushed the back of K’ot’s head with his gauntlet. Peke’s fury at this blow quickly manifested into a beam of piercing light that lanced directly into Lothar’s exposed side. Meanwhile, as her arm still crackled from the tainted aether well, Elzalath unleashed her fury against Aysha. Her zombies closed the gap and voraciously attempted to sate their appetites on Aysha’s flesh as decay erupted from Elzalath’s good arm and struck Aysha. Upon seeing his companions embroiled in combat, Corvus released his arrow into Lothar’s shoulder.

“ENOUGH!” shouted Aysha. “We are your allies! We can explore this rift together. There is no need for this.”

Peke sensed Elzalath’s resolve. He envied her clarity as he waded through the murk of moral ambiguity. Peke knew that he could not accompany Elzalath to the completion of her journey, but for now, they were on the path together. He unleashed another destructive blast on Lothar as his dryad and K’ot continued to demonstrate gross incompetence. Elzalath’s zombies were upon Aysha now, drooling necrotic venom all over her. Corvus considered his options and went all in with his companions by tossing an explosive cypher into the fray.

The cypher blew everything to hell. But Aysha felt the worst effects as the blast fused the venoumous zombies to her flesh. In a desperate attempt to continue, she dove into the aether rift. Unfortunately, the blast also reached the Weaver.

Elz’s mental connection to the Weaver immediately snapped as it descended in a fury to devour the fools who would allow the blast to touch her. However, the heroes were emboldened by their recent martial success and quickly made the Weaver regret crossing them. They also received a bit of assistance from spearmen in the shadows, but it’s unlikely they really needed help.

Upon destroying the Weaver together, the cavern started shaking and rocks began falling from the canopy. The soldiers thanked the heroes for their assistance with the aether and stepped through a portal back to the safety of their castle. Elzalath made a psychic inquiry of the aether buzzing around her arm and discovered that Peke was the key to closing the rift. So Elzalath, Corvus and Peke jumped into the rift in order to seal it off forever.

As they were travelling through all the planes, each adventurer had a vision. Peke learned from the Jade Emperor that his body is the key to closing these portals, and there are seven of them. Elzalath received confirmation from the Arch-Lich that she could find a way to harness the aether for god-like power. Corvus had a terrifying encounter with Asmodeus, who bragged about his ability to find Corvus in any plane when it was time to collect his due.

The planar jump tossed the group into a field where they quickly assessed their surroundings. Corvus found the charred remains of Aysha. Clearly the jump had not been so kind to her. In the distance, they could see a city and in the opposite direction, a man practicing martial arts on top of a hill. Peke communed with the grass surrounding them to learn that the man is not an adversary. The crew decided Elzalath and Corvus would set up camp out in the plains while Peke sets off to talk to the man on the hill.

What exciting adventures will our heroes find on this new plane? Is this the fateful time in which Peke will lose his eye? How much time does Corvus have? Will Corvus and Peke’s controllers make time to actually level up their characters? Tune in next time to find out!